Earth
Science Research Project

Department of Geosciences
State University of New York Stony Brook

Getting Secondary School Earth Science Students Started in Research

Jennifer KellerDepartment of Geosciences
SUNY Stony Brook

Overview:

Many students, near the beginning of the school year, have to select
topics with little knowledge about them. This makes it difficult for them to do the
research, particularly background information, as they have limited knowledge of related
topics. Students are also likely to be unfamiliar with the science resources in their
public or school library. In addition, many students will have had little experience
reading and taking notes at the same time. These are all aspects of student research that
can prove frustrating for both student and instructor. We outline a strategy, based on
Giese et al., 1992, for teaching students these aspects of research.

Topic Selection:

Students who start their research projects in the beginning of the
school year will have little understanding of the subject. However, interest can be piqued
by reading popular science articles and newspaper articles.

For example, the teacher decides the students will have a choice of
twelve pre-determined topics. At the start of the year, in the process of starting
discussion about research, the teacher could distribute packets of photocopied articles
(-1-2 articles/topic) and allow students one or two weeks to peruse them.

Gifted and other students may want to pursue their own interests. The
teacher will have to weigh several factors in allowing this, while also clearly letting
the student know how much more work s/he will have to go into an independently developed
project (particularly in comparison to the other students). The teacher will also have to
weigh how much help s/he can give a student working on an independent project,
particularly in comparison to those that are already more or less developed and which the
teacher has familiarity. However, I imagine its best not to discourage students from doing
their own projects.

After a few weeks of looking though the packet of articles and
information related to the topics, students would select a topic. The teacher may want to
have a class meeting where students officially announce their topics and spend about a
minute stating why the topic interests them and what their next step will be.

Timing:

Some teachers start the research projects later in the year, after
students have some familiarity with the scope of the course. However, adolescents are
fantastic samplers and often find something exciting for a few days, then move on to
something else. Introducing the topics earlier may give students a chance to discover
something in which they are really interested. Teachers have had successful student
outcomes introducing the project early, as well as near the winter holidays. Starting
projects should not be delayed until past mid-December, as students who do projects
relating to the sun's motions will want to incorporate the solstice in their data.

Note Taking:

Develop note-taking skills in class first. Supervise students as they
take notes on an article. It is important for students to understand and recognize the
maln ideas, and not copy long passages verbatim. Show students how to use an index,
bibliography, glossary, and headings in books to help narrow down what they need to read.
In addition, show students how to record the bibliographic information correctly, in the
form they will use for their final project (Sample included at end). This is not only so
proper credit is given, but also so the student can find this information again easily.

Reinforce these skills with regular reading assignments. Giese et al.
suggest having students take notes on two articles per week, with students handing in
their notes every week for teacher comments. This may be an overwhelming amount of
material for teachers to assess, in addition to items in the regular class routine, so
teachers will have to work out their own system, perhaps with students handing in their
notes on a rotating basis. Students who are working on research projects should be
encouraged to read articles related to their topics for this assignment. Students should
keep these notes in their project notebook.

Library

Students need to know and become familiar with the library resources
available at their school and local public library. The teacher should have the most
relevant articles on non-circulating reserve in the school and public library.

School library:

A one-period visit to the school library, where the librarian shows
students the science resources and indices, and how to use the science or other indices,
could be very valuable to budding researchers. It would be important for students to
understand that they should also search under related topics, not just their specific
topic.

If the librarian cannot show these resources to the students, the
instructor should determine the resources available and make a handout for the students.
This may have to include systematic instructions for finding information in indices. Even
if the librarian is not involved in showing students how to use the library, s/he should
be aware of what students should be doing so that s/he can be prepared to help students in
the correct context.

Public Library

Most likely, science teachers who have the option of going on field
trips will not want to 'waste it' on a day at the local public library. Therefore, the
instructor will have to meet with the reference librarian at the local library and
determine the local science resources, indices, etc. S/he should make a handout for
students as above. In addition, it would be ideal for the instructor to spend a few
afternoons and evenings during the projects to meet students for research 'extra help' and
show them around the library, or arrange for the librarian to do so.

Some students will find they need books and articles not available
locally. They may need to go to the university, but many libraries have interlibrary loan
procedures. The teacher should determine these and outline them for students.

University

Some students may need to use information only available in scientific
journals, which are not commonly available in the public libraries. Teachers should have
the most relevant articles from these journals on reserve in the school and public library
(i.e., for in-library use only), but some students will still want to use the university
libraries.

There are two main differences between these libraries and public ones.
First, colleges and universities use the Library of Congress system, which is different
from the Dewey Decimal system, used in school and public libraries. The teacher should
make a handout corresponding to the broad subjects in the two systems. Second, reference
librarians in universities are generally very busy due to cutbacks and understaffing.
Students should not expect the same level of help they can obtain on the school or local
library. They therefore should be prepared with information about how to do searches on
the library system and how to locate materials before going to the university. The teacher
may have to become a ear-pool organizer to arrange student transportation.

Internet

Although students should know how to do their own Internet searches, the
teacher should determine relevant Internet sites for two reasons. Primarily as a resource
for students, but also, unfortunately, to catch plagiarism.

Proposal

A week or two after selecting their topics, students will hand in their
research proposals. These proposals would include a working title, their hypothesis
(stated as a question, if possible), background information (why is this project
important?) and a materials and methods section, which should specifically describe the
protocol. Although the materials and methods sections will likely be written in regular
paragraphs for the final report, most students will find it helpful to put their methods
in numbered list format in the proposal. Depending on the situation, these proposals may
include requests for funding or special equipment, if fundraising has taken place to raise
money for this purpose. Proposals may be 'peer reviewed' if time, or just teacher
reviewed.

Students must understand that they may have to change the protocol they
developed, and students who have gone far down an unproductive path should be given more
time. [Although some debate if it more important for students to control their own
projects and realize their mistakes for themselves, or that the project be done on a
deadline schedule.]

Final Report

Students will present their work in scientific format, with a summary
abstract, introduction with background information, material and methods, results,
conclusions, and a bibliography. The report should be typewritten, and the bibliography
should include at least five non-encyclopedic references. In addition, students will give
an oral report that uses visuals, such as transparencies (each student should be given one
or two transparencies for their talks).

Science Writing Style

After nine or ten years of Language Arts asking them to continually
expand on ideas and encouraging verbose writing, many students will have trouble with the
tight, minimalist style of scientific writing. Because of this, do not assign a minimum
number of pages, but have the minimum be "enough to describe and present your project
to another student at the same grade level not in your class". Projects should be
self and peer reviewed after presentation, and students ideally should have the
opportunity to act on these reviews.